My local Range owner was shot!

Crazy... This is an article from my local paper. This is the range I go to and this is actually the guy that sold me my M&P 9. I'm just glad it was only a .22 and he's OK. I wish they would give a stern reminder to all renters before they go into the range to "keep your booger hook off the bang switch until ready to fire!"

The owner of a San Rafael shooting range was accidentally shot by one of his customers Monday.
The incident occurred at 6:15 p.m. at the Bullseye Precision Indoor Shooting Range on Andersen Drive. Police said a Concord man who was taking his 12-year-old son on his first trip to a shooting range unintentionally fired a .22-caliber rental gun, hitting proprietor Bill Byrd in the abdomen.

Byrd, 42, who did not lose consciousness after the shooting, was taken to Marin General Hospital. He was in stable condition Monday night, a nursing supervisor said.

The shooter, 49-year-old Joseph Moore, is not suspected of wrongdoing, said San Rafael police Sgt. Jonathan Bean.

"He fumbled with it and accidentally pulled the trigger," Bean said. "He lost his grip."

The boy and the boy's 25-year-old uncle were standing near Moore when the gun went off. Neither was injured.

Moore had promised to take his son to a shooting range after his 12th birthday because the boy showed an interest in guns, Bean said.

Moore said he has never been involved in a shooting accident before.

"Not remotely," he said, declining further comment.

The range remained open for business after the shooting.

Bullseye employees said children 7 years old and up are allowed at the range as long as they are supervised by a parent or guardian.
The last shooting at the range occurred on Aug. 31, 2006, when a 28-year-old San Francisco man intentionally shot himself to death. Four fatal shootings, all self-inflicted, have occurred at the range since it opened in 1993.

Wow. Four fatal shootings at one place in such a short time. I'm surprised the place is still open. You can't prevent intentional shootings, but I would have expected the lawyers to decimate the place.

I wish they would give a stern reminder to all renters before they go into the range to "keep your booger hook off the bang switch until ready to fire!"

They do. Loudly, repeatedly, and in several forms. A few weeks ago we had a manager almost relieve a guy of his arm when he turned around on the range (in a place he shouldn't have been with a loaded gun, which is outside his lane) with a loaded gun, finger on the trigger, and the gun was then resting right on the chest of said manager. No one was hurt, thank God, but I am sure that guy will have bruises for a very long time to remind him.

Wow. Four fatal shootings at one place in such a short time. I'm surprised the place is still open. You can't prevent intentional shootings, but I would have expected the lawyers to decimate the place.

I don't know... 4 self-inflicted fatals and 1 accidental non-fatal in 15 years. Seems like not too bad a record for a place regularly patronized by amateur gun enthusiasts who don't necessarily know what they are doing. They have stopped the suicides in recent years by not letting anyone rent firearms unless they have a 2nd person with them.

Having said that, I do get a bit annoyed with the employees there because they don't always enforce their own rules. I stood right next to a guy at the rental counter who was checking out a gun and drooling over the laser grips that were installed on it. He had it turned sideways looking at the grip, pointed right at his friend next to him with his finger on the trigger. It wasn't loaded, but c'mon!! Who taught you gun safety, dude? And why wasn't the employee saying something? Anyway... it's my only option for a range unless I want to drive some serious mileage.

Don't underestimate those .22's!

A quick follow-up to this:

I finally made it down to the range again and got to talk with the owner. He showed me his wound (right in the middle of his stomach, which is ample) and it looked pretty nasty. He said they still haven't managed to get the bullet out. I asked him how far it penetrated and he said it's in there pretty deep and it hurts like hell. He had a big scar running vertical over his gut where they cut him open to make the repairs. Scary stuff.

I'll never think of the humble .22 LR as just a "pea-shooter" again!

As a side note, he's really stepped up safety at the range. He said he's actually asked a few customers to never come back until they can proove they have taken a gun safety class.

I assume so. He phrased it as "They haven't gotten it out YET." I didn't want to press him about it but I thought it was strange that they didn't get it out while they were in there.

Anybody know someone with any medical training? Is there a reason they might leave a bullet inside you for a while? Maybe scar tissue forms around it and it becomes easier to remove if it's close to something vital?

Anybody know someone with any medical training? Is there a reason they might leave a bullet inside you for a while? Maybe scar tissue forms around it and it becomes easier to remove if it's close to something vital?

I definitely don't have any medical training, but that would be my guess. I know of a guy who was in a car accident that was so incredibly bad that when he got to the hospital they packed him full of gauze and closed him up and went for it at a later time. My guess is it might be in a bad spot or something like that, and they want it to heal a little bit before they go prying around and pulling it out. Just a guess though, I could be totally wrong.

I assume so. He phrased it as "They haven't gotten it out YET." I didn't want to press him about it but I thought it was strange that they didn't get it out while they were in there.

It's entirely possible they're leaving it in. He's out of the hospital and home? Sounds like he has a permanent souvenir. Going after the bullet for removal has its own risks especially if the bullet is near an important structure, e.g. inferior vena cava, aorta, et al. which could make removal more dangerous than leaving behind a bullet that is chemically inert and not doing any additional damage.